Broke into the old apartment
This is where we used to live
Broken glass, broke and hungry
Broken hearts and broken bones
This is where we used to live
Why did you paint the walls?
Why did you clean the floor?
Why did you plaster over the hole I punched in the door?
This is where we used to live
–The Old Apartment, Barenaked Ladies
I know Squeeze has already gotten a mention, but a lot of their songs fit. This is my fave:
I never thought it would happen
With me and the girl from Clapham
Out on the windy common
That night I ain’t forgotten
When she dealt out the rations
With some or other passions
I said “you are a lady”
“Perhaps” she said. “I may be”
~~Up the Junction
Oooh, this is too much fun. How about Steely Dan?
I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes
When you put me on the Wolverine up to Annandale
It was still September when your daddy was quite surprised
To find you with the working girls in the county jail
I was smoking with the boys upstairs
When I heard about the whole affair
I said, “Oh no
William and Mary won’t do now”
~~ My Old School
Way back when in sixty-seven
I was the dandy
Of Gamma Chi
Sweet things from Boston
So young and willing
Moved down to Scarsdale
And where the hell am I
~~ Hey Nineteen
Bonus points for the college references? : )
In the mornin you go gunnin’
For the man who stole your water
And you fire till he is done in
But they catch you at the border
And the mourners are all singin’
As they drag you by your feet
But the hangman isn’t hangin’
And they put you on the street
~~ Do It Again
In the corner
Of my eye
I saw you in Rudy’s
You were very high
You were high
It was a cryin’ disgrace
They saw your face
On the counter
By your keys
Was a book of numbers
And your remedies
One of these
Surely will screen out the sorrow
But where are you tomorrow
~~ Black Cow
Okay, three more, then I’m going to return to quasi-lurker status. Thanks for indulging me. This was fun!
Tommy Mottola lives on the road
He lost his lady two months ago
Maybe he’ll find her, maybe he won’t
~~ Cherchez la Femme, Cory Daye
Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star
Tony always tended bar
~~Copacabana, Barry Manilow
It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me,
Won’t see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you
~~ The Pogues
I almost posted that Pogues song, too! Arguably you get there with just the first line: “It was Christmas Eve babe, in the drunk tank …”